This blog is all about Rotherhithe, past and present. The main themes are heritage, wildlife and news items that may be of interest to local residents. If you have any questions or would like to comment or ask me to cover any particular topic you can email me at andie [at] rotherhitheblog.co.uk. I am also on Twitter @AndieByrnes

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Spring life, colours and shapes.

I was woken, for the umpteenth morning in a row, to the sound of coots on the dock. They make the most god-awful din.

I looked out at the bright sunshine and got up with the happy intention of going over the road to see what, if anything, had emerged since the weekend. It wasn't a particularly early start in the end, and I left the house at just gone 11am. But everything seemed to be fast asleep. There were only one or two birds crouching in trees, and I had the park to myself at first. But it soon started to wake up. My first happy sighting was a rusty coloured Wren, immediately followed by a gaggle of Blue Tits where the pigeons usually sit. I was attracted to them by the sheer volume of noise that they produced.

I went to see the Downtown ponds but there was nothing new to see. On Globe Pond there were several pairs of mallard, which was nice to see, and an inevitable bunch of coots, but no frogs or toads are spawning in their usual place.

Walking into the ecological park bird song was so loud that it filled the entire air. The most distinctive voice was that of the Great Tit, with its repetitive call, but I also saw sparrows, finches, robins, starlings and blackbirds as well as the much larger crows, pigeons and magpies.

The shapes and colours of new shoots and flowers continue to fascinate and enchant. Pink blossom has joined white, and the great clouds of gentle colour are lovely. I saw one small clump of primroses and they were super to see, an unexpected pleasure.

There was more insect life than in previous weeks. There were several flies and I saw a number of comma butterflies including one which stayed quite motionless for several minutes in the sun. I also saw a couple of white, but they were too far away for me to identify. Honey bees are taking advantage of the pollen-laden pussy willow which is all over the ecological park and the woodland, and there were a couple of bumble bees in the grass.

There were no foxes to be seen but I saw too very busy squirrels.

I walked back via the Downtown site where metal railings are now in position around the compass. There was no felling taking place. Other work being carried out between the Health Centre carpark and the road appeared to have something to do with large piles of sand or earth.

I crossed the rbidge and had the Thames Path entirely to myself, which was an eerie feeling.

Walking back along Greenland Dock the peace was only broken by the wretched coots, which were tearing the air apart with their screams. As soon as one starts the others all join in and the din is deafening. Apart from the coots the only other birds that saw were a handful of seagulls, three mallards and two swans.

The scene at the Moby was entirely different from that of the previous weekend. When I rounded Tavistock Tower at 1230 there was simply no-one there. All the benches were empty. The contrast betweeen the heaving chaos of Sunday with the over-heated people, the semll of chips and ketchup versus today's peaceful quietness was truly remarkable. Not that I have anything against chips and ketchup but it was all a bit overwhelming in the warmth of the day.

The weather forecast predicted cloud for the afternoon, but I am glad that it was wrong. It has been an idyllic day.

Welcome

Site Menu

A History of South Dock

I have assembled all my posts concerning the history and heritage of South Dock into a website of its own, which seemed to be a requirement following the announcement of the St George's Wharf development that will overshadow the South Dock area. It can be found at:http://southdockse16.wordpress.com

Aberdovey Londoner

In July 2018 I moved to Aberdovey on the mid Welsh coast, and began a blog there. It is a very different place and experiences are all completely novel. If you are interested, you can find it at https://aberdoveylondoner.wordpress.com

Port of London Study Group

If you are interested in the archaeology and history of the Port of London you may be interested in the Port of London Study Group, a self-guided research group that operates out of the Museum of London. Find out more at http://portoflondonstudy.wordpress.com.

British Transport Treasures

This blog is run with considerable assistance from excellent local history publications written by Stuart Rankin. His works are my starting point for all history posts. Stuart has set up a website, called British Transport Treasures, that specializes in out of print publications which can be downloaded as PDFs that can be saved and printed. Out of print publications are a nightmare for anyone attempting local history research unless they have access to a specialist library and archives. British Transport Treasures is expanding fast with an ever-growing catalogue of titles. Each of the publications is described with a magazine-style short review to explain the scope of the content, and provided with a preview of the cover and first page. There is a nominal cost for each, to cover the costs of hosting and running the site, and 5p per item sold is donated to Help For Heroes. I am a massive fan of the site and what it is attempting to do, and as it has a number of publications concerning Rotherhithe I have drawn attention to some of them here.